SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Cross reality (XR) technology is gaining traction in the med-tech sector thanks to advancements in the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) fields that comprise it, triggered by a surge of investments that have driven cash flow to med-tech startups. The new technology is already impacting the health care sector.
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – The tiny Latin American country that has become the region's second largest med-tech exporter behind Mexico is betting on disruptive technologies and trends to stay at the technological forefront. Costa Rica's med-tech exports have become one of the nation's most important sources of income and employment, and the country is focused on expanding the sector.
Warsaw, Ind.-based Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. is moving ahead of schedule in terms of its turnaround as it reported revenue of $1.892 billion for the third quarter. That figure represents an increase of 3% over the same period last year, impressing analysts.
San Diego-based Tandem Diabetes Care Inc. reported financial results for the third quarter of 2019, with worldwide pump shipments soaring 112% to 17,839 pumps from 8,434 pumps in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 105% to $94.7 million, up from $46.3 million in the third quarter of 2018.
Madison, Wis.-based Exact Sciences Corp., which provided an update on promising research in a collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, saw a jump in revenue during its third quarter, with 12,000 providers ordering their initial Cologuard test during the period. The company posted impressive numbers, with revenue increasing 85% to $219 million on Cologuard volume growth. The revenue came in $3 million above consensus, and the operational update was as expected, noted Sean Lavin, BTIG analyst. Even though management was upbeat, "with investor sentiment fairly weak, an in-line result was simply not good enough, and we guessed that a $5 [million]-$10 [million] beat was probably needed to nudge shares," Lavin added.
It was a standout quarter for San Diego-based Resmed Inc., which saw revenues jump to $681.1 million, with the U.S., Canada and Latin America serving as bright spots. "We have started fiscal year 2020 right where we left off with 2019," Michael Farrell, Resmed's CEO, said during a call on the results. "Our team achieved another quarter of the balanced growth across the portfolio, driven by continued strong performance in the mask category."
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. has been unstoppable so far this year, driven by the rapidly expanding adoption of transcatheter heart valve therapy. It beat expectations in its third-quarter earnings report, drawing praise and even higher expectations from Wall Street analysts. The Irvine, Calif.-based company recently received an expanded FDA indication for its Sapien 3 and Sapien 3 Ultra TAVR systems to treat surgical low-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis. (See BioWorld MedTech, Aug. 19, 2019.)
A relief rebound drove Boston Scientific Corp. up 6% on positive third-quarter earnings news. But that wasn't enough to recover all the ground that shares (NYSE:BSX) of the Marlborough, Mass.-based medical device giant lost last month on the disappointing next-generation transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) study results presented at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference held last month in San Francisco.
BOGOTA, Colombia – During the past few years, the Dominican Republic has become one of the leading medical device suppliers to the U.S. It has positioned itself as the Latin American country with the highest export value of medical and surgical instruments worldwide. This year, it aims to expand its med-tech exports at a 7% rate.
CLEVELAND – What are some of the biggest challenges related using to artificial intelligence (AI) in health care? A panel of experts tackled that question during a session Tuesday during the 2019 Medical Innovations Summit, while also discussing what their organizations have done in this space to advance patient care.